


Prologue - Life In A Hellish City

by UnseenReader



Series: Storyfell - A Simple Shift [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Storyshift (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Gen, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23069866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnseenReader/pseuds/UnseenReader
Summary: This is kinda important for some events happening soon in the story, so here.
Series: Storyfell - A Simple Shift [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657966
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Prologue - Life In A Hellish City

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Venelona](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Venelona).



> This is kinda important for some events happening soon in the story, so here.

Frisk looked on into the distance, at the corpse of her friend, which lay cold on the hard concrete floor. She knelt down and started to cry as another friend of hers, alive for now, tried to comfort her, telling her it was ‘okay’.

“It’s alright, Frisk… it wasn’t your fault…” Justine said, obviously holding back her tears. Frisk continued to cry her eyes out, blaming herself for her friend’s death.

“Frisk…” Another friend of hers, namely William, said. “Please… stop… Crying is going to do anything but bring us down, making us vulnerable.”

“…But why?! She didn’t deserve this,” Frisk cried out. “To be k-k-kidnapped and r-r…”

Justine knelt down beside Frisk and hugged her. She was the strongest out of all of them, the last person to admit defeat. “I understand, Frisk. But we have to move on. You have to move on. Let go. I’m sorry Frisk, but I have to go. I can’t stay with you guys any longer.”

“You… can’t stay?” Frisk looked up and Justine was no longer beside her. She stopped crying, her tears somehow already gone. She was hiding behind a rock near the entrance to a cave, watching as a group of three people around her age carried the now unconscious Justine, preparing to drop her down a hole. A drop which would probably kill her, as the hole was very deep.

Frisk watched in fear as the group threw Justine down. She so badly wanted to stop them, but she knew that if she tried, the bottom of that hole may be the last thing she sees.

They were starting to leave, so she got up to run away. However, as soon as she was on her feet, she heard a loud cracking sound underneath her. She looked down and saw a white crack on the ground. The crack quickly spread exponentially, the ground shattering like glass beneath her to give way to a bottomless black abyss. She fell, her surroundings growing darker and darker till she could see no more.

**Dark, darker yet darker.**

* * *

Frisk woke up, frightened by the nightmare, the grasps of which she had just escaped. Beads of sweat poured down her face as the sequence of events played through her head again and again. It had been over a year and a half since Justine was thrown down, even longer since Gloria died, but these events continued to plague her and William relentlessly.

She sighed and finally got out of bed.

After taking a shower and getting ready for the day, she decided to check on William, who she lived with. Leaving her room and moving through the corridor quietly, she slightly opened the door to his room, peeking through the crack. He was silently asleep, which was obvious due to how silent the house was, but that wasn’t really her main concern. She stared at the analogue wall clock hung over William’s bed, near the ceiling. Reading the clock, she realized that she had woken up much earlier than she usually does, even with the nightmares that plague her.

3:23 AM

This was good, in some ways. This meant she could sneak away for at least just over an hour, thirty-seven minutes if she was unlucky.

Quickly, she changed into some old, ragged clothes, wearing a torn scarf to cover her, reducing the odds of someone who saw her now recognizing her during the day, or thinking that she had enough money on her to be worth robbing.

She snuck out of the house silently, locking the door behind her, and made her way to the ‘Nice Cream’ vendors a few blocks away.

The ‘Nice Cream’ vendors were some of the only vendors in the city that were corrupt or greedy for money. They were siblings, brother and sister, who were caring and kind. They owned a shop where they didn’t only sell ice cream, but other treats as well.

“Mornin’ Frisky. How’re you doing? You’re pretty early today,” The brother, whose name was Rose, said. He stood beside a bicycle with a freezer compartment used for keeping ice cream, right beside their shop.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Frisk replied.

“This is way earlier than you’re usually up. Are you sneaking out again?”

“Yeah. William’s still asleep. Where’s Violet?”

“She’s asl-”

“Heya Frisk!” Violet ran up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “How’re you doing?!”

“Ack! I’m… I’m fine.”

“So, what do you want today?” Rose asked.

“I’ll take one chocolate and one banana-flavoured Nice Cream.”

“Alright then. One for William, I presume.” He opened the freezer compartment and took out what was requested. “I mean, if you’re sneaking out and hoping not to be caught by William, it doesn’t help that you’re bringing one back for him.”

“Well… whenever he gets home, he always seems tired, so I thought I might get him one.”

“You’re a nice friend, Frisk, but you’re not good at deception. It was never one of your strong points. Anyway, here. If he finds out, tell him we said hi.”

“I will.”

“I’m going to open up the shop now. See ya later,” Violet said, walking away and waving at Frisk.

“I’ll see you later!”

Frisk consumed the chocolate flavoured ice as she walked back home. There was barely anyone around, and those here paid no attention to her. She walked silently on the sidewalk, trying not to catch anyone’s attention. She wanted to enjoy the ice cream in peace. She snuck out occasionally to do this, getting some treats whenever she felt

Eventually, someone in a coat walked over to her side of the street. Their hat obscured their face and they seemed to be wearing gloves. The coat came down below their knees. They trailed behind Frisk, taking every turn she did. Frisk grew suspicious and scared, trying to lose the person without alerting them that she knew she was there. However, she was not nearly fast enough to do so.

Luckily for her, as she took another left turn, they seemed to continue on their path, and she realized they were trailing the person in front of her, whose path she had unknowingly followed. She felt pity for that person as the one in the coat started to move faster towards them. She walked away in fear, fearing they would quickly end that man and chase after her.

It was a sad truth that this city had forced her to accept, that no matter how much you wanted to help people, there’s the bigger probability you won’t be able to. Doing so might result in death or serious injuries.

Frisk rushed back home, trying to ignore these thoughts that did nothing but bring her spirits down.

She unlocked the door and walked in silently. There was no sound except for the very faint sound of her feet against the floor. She crept upstairs and into her room, changing back into her previous set of clothes. She crept back to William’s room, slightly opening the door to see if he was awake. He was still fast asleep.

4:04 AM

She sighed in relief, about to leave the door before she heard William’s voice.

“Where have you been?”

Frisk froze. She had been caught. William wouldn’t be happy that she had left alone, especially when it was still dark.

“Where have you been?” He was sitting up on the bed now.

“I… I went to get some ice cream.”

“Seriously? Again? I thought you stopped sneaking out. I’ve explained-”

“-how dangerous it is. Yes, I know,” Frisk interjected. She looked at him. He seemed tired, there were heavy bags under his eyes. “You… it isn’t your work, is it?”

“What?”

“Those bags under your eyes. You constantly being tired. They aren’t from your long days of work, are they?”

“Frisk, I’ve already-”

“William, tell me the truth.”

“You’re right.”

“Why didn’t-?”

“I didn’t want to bother you.”

“That’s it, no more extra hours of work. You’re coming home on time to rest.”

“Oh no.” _This is the main reason I didn’t want to tell you._ He got out of the bed, moving towards the door. “You do-”

“There are better ways of doing this than working yourself nearly to death.”

“I… I don’t have a choice, do I?” _How did this turn from me reprimanding you for going out on your own to me get scolded because I haven’t been getting enough sleep?_

“No. Also, I got you something.” She held out the banana-flavoured ice cream.

“…Thanks.” He accepted it, placing it on a bedside table as Frisk closed the door and left for her room.

Frisk quickly got changed for the day, pondering on whether it was actually his work keeping him up early, as he had woken up earlier than usual. This had happened a few times but Frisk had always shrugged it off. Was he having nightmares too?

* * *

The day went as it normally would. Frisk worked as a waitress in a non-descript restaurant while William got a job as a clerk in an equally non-descript office until the HR manager there could find a better department for him.

As a waitress in the city of Ebott, commonly referred to as Ebott City, there were many… annoyances she had to deal with every day. There was the fact that some didn’t even come for the food, most of these people that did this were perverts; only here to satisfy their sexual appetite. They had no such luck, however, mostly due to the owner of the restaurant.

He was a big, strong man who could usually be seen at work wearing a white apron which was barely stained even through his years of cooking. He naturally looked very intimidating but was very nice and kind to people as long as they’re decent. Which a lot of the customers weren’t.

Due to this, there were many incidents of people getting kicked out due to indecent behaviour. However, he didn’t kick people out immediately. If a customer did something wrong or indecent, they’d get a death glare from him from behind the counter. Any more, and he might actually step in, and they’d have to step out.

This didn’t matter to Frisk, as with experience came the knowledge and skill needed to easily skip and dodge out the way of greedy wanting hands, leaving those perverts in dismay while she continued her work as if nothing happened.

Work this day went as usual, and as soon as she was done, left for the office William worked at, instead of going home as usual. Since work ended for both of them at around the same time, it wasn’t too hard for Frisk to get William out of the office.

William knew this would happen, as when Frisk was determined to do something, she usually managed to succeed, in ways he never expected would work. Now he was walking away from the office building, Frisk gripping his right hand firmly in her left one. They walked home together, slowly and silently, until William spoke.

“Uh… thanks for the ice cream.”

Frisk turned to William with a kind smile. “You’re welcome. Rose and Violet said hi.”

“H-” William froze for a moment, looking back.

“Is something wrong?”

“No… I thought I saw something.”

“Oh, ok then. Do you have anywhere you want to stop at before we go home?”

“No, not really.”

“So, how did work go for you today?”

“It’s was… better than usual. I’m being considered for a promotion, which means I might get a pay raise!”

“And more work, with a higher chance of you working extra hours and getting deprived of sleep.”

William sighed. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, seeing how nothing ever made her waver in her decision… Unless he explained it to her in a different way. “You know, we need the money to take care of-”

“William, I’m aware. I’m not against the promotion. I’m not against you working hard. I just care about you. The others are… gone. You’re the only one left, and I don’t… Why don’t you try this? Someone once explained to me how to be most productive with my work. Identify the more important tasks and attend to them first. The little details and big tasks can be equally important too.”

“That’s-”

“It’s easier when you sort them on a list in order of importance. That way you’ll be done with the important tasks by the time I’m over to pick you,” Frisk continued. “That way, you’ll probably be less reluctant to leave.” They took a left turn

“You’re going to keep doing this?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh.” William turned back again, looking around longer this time. “Frisk…”

“What’s-?”

William shushed her silently. “Let’s increase our speed. We need to get home.”

“Ok.”

The two walked briskly through the city, taking lots of turns but deliberately avoiding the path home. Someone showed up on the sidewalk behind them. Male, around William’s size. This figure following them wore a coat to cover themselves and their face seemed unclear.

Suddenly, the sound of the person’s footsteps got louder as he increased his speed. He broke into a full sprint, pulling out a knife and slashing at their conjoined hands. As the person slashed, time seemed to slow as Frisk saw his face clearly. _Ryan_. The leader of the group that dropped Justine.

Frisk moved away from William, sparing their hands from the knife. She backed away. She knew what Ryan wanted, and knew it would happen, that he would come for her next at some point. But she didn’t think it’d be this soon. She dashed away into the city, leaving William and Ryan behind.

“Frisk!” William shouted after her. He turned his focus to Ryan, visibly agitated. “ **Ryan.** So, you derive pleasure in torturing Frisk and I? You’re-”

“Shut it, I’m not here for you, and she knows it,” Ryan replied. He laughed, turning away from Frisk to look at William. “If only you could have said goodbye to your dear Frisky friend,” He said, moving his finger over the sharp edge of the blade.

* * *

Frisk ran through the city as far as she could, not even bothering to take note of where she was. Her only goal was to escape Ryan’s pursuit. Unfortunately, he was faster than her, her only saving grace is that she easily outmanoeuvred him. He was catching up, however, as at certain turns, the other two members of his small group lay in wait for her, causing her to waste time in changing routes.

Eventually, she made her way to Mt. Ebbot somehow, climbing up the mountain path. Ryan had regrouped with the other two, so now all three of them were chasing her up the mountain. The mountain path was difficult to follow, but she moved on. Over halfway the height of the mountain, the path led to a cave. It was the same cave where Justine fell. This was probably their plan. To throw her down there, where Justine died. Maybe it was to throw her off the mountain… that was probably it. There is the slightest chance that Justine may have survived down there, and they may want a better guarantee of her death. Now wasn’t the time to wonder however, she didn’t have time to think. They were catching up. She took the right turn, as the left didn’t continue on.

They were close now, just a short distance away from her. She ran till they could see her to a sharp turn, then ducked into a dark cave. Hiding, using the dark to her advantage, she watched as the three of them ran past, searching for her.

After they left, she turned into the cave. Trying to go down the mountain now would be suicide; she was exhausted, her head was spinning, and even if she wasn’t tired, they were way faster than her. She walked into the dark cave, looking for somewhere to rest, finding her way by feeling for anything in front of her with her hands and feet. The cave seemed to go farther than normal, but that was to her advantage in hiding.

But now, she really needed something to rest on. She could barely focus, her head hurt, and she was way too exhausted to be moving like this. Did I mention she was exhausted? She continued to look around, and as she took a step forward, she felt she had passed through something. It slowed her movement. It seemed like a passable barrier.

She tripped on something. She fell. And with a loud thud, everything suddenly went black.

**Author's Note:**

> On the topic of other things, I uploaded the first chapter of an original story, but only a friend has looked at it and it's been over a week. Here it is, so it'd be nice if you could check it out: [Part 1 - Sonzai](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22912735)  
> Also, I didn't finish Fransweek cause I went offline by day 3, busy due to school stuff, so yeah.
> 
> Comments are welcome.


End file.
